The Wedge of Gold eBook

“It was from over one of those open decks that
the cry ‘A Light!’ rang out upon the night;
it was from one of those decks that the vision of the
New World materialized before the eyes of the great
Italian; on one of those decks he knelt as the vision
grew brighter in the dawn, and his soul was thrilled
as souls are when they feel that a visible answer to
prayer has been vouchsafed.

“But the man was there, Jordan; the man who
could charm the terrors from the hearts of a fear-stricken
crew; who could convert a meteor’s fall into
an augury of good instead of an omen of terror; who
could quell the mutinous spirit which was awakened
by a varying needle and raging storms.

“It is not the great ship that counts, but the
motives in the souls of those who build and navigate
the ship.

“When on the shores of this sea men first built
boats and went forth on these waters, they were but
rude boats indeed.

“Who knows how many were lost, how many brave
souls were drowned?

“But each calamity gave new thoughts to those
who escaped; they kept on improving, building better
and better boats and making longer and longer voyages;
they found islands and the shores of far-off mainlands;
they carried back the products of those lands, and
so Commerce was born.

“They made at last their ships meet the caravans
from the East; the ideas as well as the products of
the East and West were brought together; manufactories
were established, robes and dyed garments and flashing
blades were made that became immortal, and those people
made such an impression on the world, as brave and
capable and alert men of affairs, that the impression
still remains; even as the strong and true men of
Venice renewed the impression twenty-five hundred years
later.

“The same spirit worked three thousand years
ago that has been at work in making the transformation
from the bungling ships that Nelson fought Trafalgar
with to this ship under our feet, from the carrying
up of ore from the deep mines on the heads of peons
to the hoisting engine and safety cage of to-day.”

“That is good, Jim,” said Jordan, “it
is ther soul of man, after all, soul of courage that
counts ’nd all ther advancement is only because
we has better tools ter work with than ther old-timers
hed.”

CHAPTER XVIII.

Thesoulintheclay.

At Port Said the travelers left the French steamer
to wait for the English ship which was on the way
from Southampton. It came in on the evening of
their arrival, and they went on board. They were
glad to do so, for the few hours in Port Said convinced
them that it was a tougher place than they had ever
seen on the frontier.

At daylight next morning the ship proceeded on her
way through the canal.